The auditorium was almost full when Amy arrived. The last remaining seats were the really crappy ones in terms of acoustics, ventilation, and line of sight but she decided those were still better than the chair at her lab, where she would most likely be sitting in idly while waiting for some test results. At least in the auditorium, she could listen to a lecture in the latest developments in physics and learn about Sheldon's field some more.
She paused, evaluating as quickly as she could which among the few available seats appeared the least irritating. She ended up taking a chair in a corner near the fire exit, three rows from the back of the room. As she sat down, she scanned the room for familiar faces, silently wishing to see one most familiar face.
It wasn't hard to spot Sheldon in a roomful of people; Amy only had to aim her sight on what would be the best spot to listen in on the lecture and, true enough, he was there. Sheldon also towered over most of the people in his department, so looking for him didn't challenge Amy much. What challenge her, however, was taking her eyes off of him.
From her vantage point, Amy could only see the back of Sheldon's head plus his shoulders but that was enough to reel her in. She missed him. Although they see each other everyday, she still craved his presence on a daily basis, that's how intense her feelings were for him.
The thought made Amy smile. Somehow, despite years of being in a relationship with him, she still felt like a teenage girl with a budding crush for a heartthrob. She continued observing her boyfriend from afar, wishing badly that she could sit beside him and listen on his snarky but entertaining comments. She briefly wondered whether Sheldon felt the same way.
The lecture hadn't started yet, as they were still waiting for the rest of the speakers. Sheldon's head was bowed down and, from the looks of it, it seemed like he was fiddling with something on his lap, most likely his cell phone. She envied that gadget sometimes for the attention he gave it. Amy sighed, realizing once again how hopelessly in love she was to the man. A vibration on her pocket distracted her from her thoughts.
She took out her phone and confirmed that indeed Sheldon was fiddling with his cell phone as proved by his message to her.
"I'm in the auditorium for a colleague's lecture. Hope everything's okay in your lab," he said on the text.
A smirk made its way on Amy's face. Random, non-purposive messages like that qualified as sexting for Sheldon; he was thinking of her, too!
"I know," she replied, "I'm in the auditorium as well. I got bored waiting for some test results in the lab so I decided to swing by." She saw his head shot up after reading her text. He surveyed the room, obviously looking for her. He was, however, looking at the wrong direction so she texted him again.
"Third row from the back. Near fire escape," she said. Sheldon got up a little from his seat to look for her and, when their eyes finally met, he waved at her.
She could be imagining things but Amy sensed a bit of longing from his part when he looked at her. She dismissed the feeling immediately when he turned his back to her and brought his attention to the elevated platform where the lecturer would be speaking. She decided to focus on something else so she started flipping through the event's program. She was interrupted when she heard a familiar voice on her side.
"Excuse me, sir," Sheldon said, almost kneeling near the man seated beside her so as not to disturb the others who were attending the lecture. "May I interest you in exchanging seats with me? My spot is right there," he continued, pointing at the chair in front.
The man beside Amy paused, thinking. "Hmmm. It does look like a nice seat."
"Nice?" Sheldon said. "It's an excellent spot. It is situated at a proper distance from the speakers so audio wouldn't be too loud or too soft. It is far enough from the air conditioner so it is not too cold or too hot. It's strategically-positioned so it would be easy for you to approach the microphone should you have questions and easy access to the control booth should you desire to cut the lecturer off or mess around with his presentation. So, what do you say?"
"Alright," the man said, "but what's in it for you? Why do you want my crappy seat?"
Amy watched the exchange with curiosity. Sheldon hesitated a bit before answering the question. In the end, he opted to just point his finger at Amy and gave a most eloquent response to the man's inquiry by saying, "girlfriend."
"Oh," the guy replied, his mouth unnecessarily prolonging the "Oh" sound. "I'll be out of your way."
Sheldon then took the seat vacated by the guy. "Finally," he said.
"You didn't have to do that, Sheldon," Amy said, "your seat before looked perfect."
He looked at her like she just said something crazy. "Don't be silly, Amy. This is the right seat for me."
She merely frowned at him, not quite understanding what he's saying. So, he turned to stare at her eyes directly and took her hand. "It felt wrong for us to be in the same room and not be together, don't you agree?"
She smiled warmly at him and started rubbing the hand that was holding her. "I could kiss you right now," she told him.
"You control yourself, woman," he replied, looking fondly at her.
"Alright," she said.
But, when the lights were switched off for an audio visual presentation of the speaker's credentials, Amy leaned discreetly towards Sheldon and stole a quick kiss on his lips.